Kinnick At Night

Alright Hawks it’s about that time, Hawkeye football is underway and we have our first night game. There is truly no environment like Kinnick stadium especially at night. To help get you in the Hawkeye Spirit a few members of the Student Outreach staff would like to share their favorite Kinnick/ football memories!

A-kray: I never had a visit day at Iowa or went on a tour of campus. My older brothers went here and they were convinced the best way to see this campus and what it means to be a Hawkeye involves Kinnick Stadium on game day. Oh boy were they right! By the time I reached my seat I knew I was going to be a Hawkeye. Since then Hawkeye football has been a full family event even my dog participates by wearing his football jersey. Over the past few years I have seen my share of Hawkeye games. If I had to narrow it down my favorite games would be Iowa vs. Pitt & Iowa vs. Michigan both happen to be night games. The hawks weren’t favored in either game and both came down to the last few seconds. Iowa vs. Pitt went down to the last 12 seconds, Iowas only chance to win was a 57 yard field goal. Which Marshall Koehn nailed like he did it in practice all the time. Kinnick went crazy and I may or may not have shed a tear or two. Iowa vs. Michigan is probably my favorite Hawkeye moment. Again the game went down to the wire, the hawks score in the last few seconds and everybody in Kinnick was on the field celebrating within seconds. Regardless of the outcome I think we can all agree that Iowa is still the greatest school in the nation. Go Hawks beat Penn.

Naomi: I’m going to be totally honest with you….Football is not my thing and I’ve only been to one football game in my three years here. BUT I love Hawkeye Game days because 1) I can’t help but feel a sense of happy Hawkeye pride. That stuff is contagious! and 2) That usually means that I get the house to myself while my 4 roommates go out and enjoy the game. When I was a first-year student, I loved how quiet the residence hall would get. I always seemed to get so much more done when I didn’t have my distracting (but still AWESOME, ily all) friends/fellow residents around. So hey, if you’re like me, just remember that Hawkeye Football makes everybody’s life better (even if it my be indirect).

Alec: I want to address something that I hear too often. “Alec, please, it’s just a game.” Alright, maybe it is, but, who draws the line on what matters in life? We have seen so much good from this so called “game” that maybe this matters more than you and I are willing to admit. We’ve seen communities come together, and travel all across the nation over a common bond with our Hawkeyes. In a time of great divide, and where it seems as if no one can agree on anything, maybe more than ever, now is the time to rally behind OUR Hawkeyes. I know you have seen the “First Quarter Wave” and the impact it is having on the children at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. I know this is more than just a game. Maybe, just maybe this has been about so much more than the 22 players on the field. Maybe this has been about all of us uniting together, and letting the rest of the world take a pause. Maybe this has always been about us, and not about the people who claim it’s just a game. This is what makes Iowa so great. We took this game, and we made it ours. We made this game matter. This Saturday, we need to be loud. This Saturday, at the end of the first quarter, take your phone out, shine the light and wave to the children to let them know we are here for them, and they are not out of sight. This weekend, and every weekend, know that we have the ability to raise the bar. This is our game, not theirs. We made this matter. It’s not just us a game because it was never about that. This is for us because we need this. With every alumni watching from all around the world to the 70,000 fans in the stadium, and even the children watching from 12 floors up, we are all in this together. With that, I’ll see you at the game, and hopefully, on the field after. Go Hawks!

Sierra: My mom graduated from the University of Iowa class of ’82, so I grew up in a Hawkeye Family. Before I was a student here and experienced a game in Kinnick, my family never actually went to a football game in person. Instead, we watched each game religiously on TV. So I’m going to reflect back on what the Game Day atmosphere means to me even if I’m not physically cheering in the stands. Night games and every football game to me represents the memories and connections I share with my parents and siblings. Most of these memories also include the BEST food including homemade eggrolls, endless chips and dip, and chili. Not to mention we also played traditional midwest cornhole tournaments or “bags”. Whether we were having cookouts in the backyard with neighbors, or spending Thanksgiving with the family cheering loudly at the big screen, Hawkeye football experiences go beyond Kinnick Stadium!

Avery: My favorite memory from Kinnick so far happened during the Iowa State game in 2016. The game was at night which means the atmosphere was even more hyped with the stadium lights on. At some point during the game Notorious B.I.G.’s hit “Hypnotize” started playing over the speakers. Almost instantly, everyone whipped out their phones and turned their flashlights on. Everyone was swaying back and forth with their flashlights on and it was so cool to see so many people appreciating the same music. The moment made me feel really apart of the community with everyone swaying together to Biggie’s music and getting Kinnick rocking. Beating Iowa State 42 to 3 helps too. Seeing so many people come together instantly and without explicit coordination was overwhelming and shows the type of environment Kinnick fosters on gameday.

Hawkeye football means something different for each of us and has brought us all some form of joy. We hope you enjoyed our stories and we highly encourage you to make your own Kinnick/ football memories this fall.